Iraqi court dismisses forgery charges against former parliament speaker

Mohammed Al Halbousi was dismissed by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court in 2023

Former speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi at parliament in Baghdad. Forgery charges against him have been dropped by a court. AFP

A Baghdad court has dismissed forgery charges brought against former parliament speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi that led to his dismissal in 2023, his office announced on Sunday.

In early 2023, Sunni MP Laith Al Dulaimi accused Mr Al Halbousi of forging his signature and the date on a resignation letter. After a legal battle, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled that Mr Al Halbousi and Mr Al Dulaimi be removed from their jobs.

In a statement, Mr Al Halbousi’s office said that "the Iraqi judiciary acquitted" him "of the charges previously brought against him." It added that the courts "dismissed the complaints" and closed the investigation.

Several documents on the appeal processes and the ruling by the Court of Appeal in Baghdad were also published by his office. There was no statement from Iraq’s Supreme Judiciary Council on Sunday.

Mr Al Halbousi, a businessman, emerged as a prominent Sunni political leader in recent years. Most of his support came from his home province of Anbar, in western Iraq, where he formerly served as governor.

He first became speaker in 2018 with the support of pro-Iran Shiite parties that dominate Iraq's parliament. He was elected to the post again in 2022.

Under an unofficial agreement between political parties, Iraq’s presidency – a largely ceremonial role – is held by a Kurd, while the prime minister's post is reserved for a Shiite and that of speaker of parliament for a Sunni.

Other government posts are divided among the country’s political parties based on their religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Mr Al Halbousi forged alliances with warring Shiite rivals, as well as the Kurds, before the formation of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani's government in October 2022.

Mr Al Halbousi established the Progress Party, or Taqadum in Arabic, which won the majority of Sunni votes in the October 2021 national elections, taking 37 seats in the 329-seat legislative body.

In the provincial council elections, held in late 2023, an alliance led by Taqadum triumphed in Anbar and also won seats in the Sunni-dominated provinces of Nineveh and Salah Al Din, as well as Diyala, which has a mixed population. It came third in Baghdad, behind two influential Shiite alliances. Since then, Mr Al Halbousi's political clout has grown.

It is unclear whether Mr Al Halbousi will seek reinstatement. Ali Al Tamimi, a legal expert in Baghdad, told The National that it would be difficult to revoke the Supreme Federal Court's decision because it "led to legal consequences and acquired rights".

But Mr Al Halbousi can now run in the parliamentary elections scheduled for November 11, as "the legal restriction that barred candidacy for elections is lifted now and he is acquitted, allowing him to participate in the elections on an equal footing with others".

This year's election will be the sixth to take place in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.